Do you always says always? And do you never say never? Everyone says those words. Or maybe it’s nobody? I can never remember. The point is that all these words are absolutes, and they rarely hold true. 

As journalists, we try to avoid absolutes. Instead, we use words like frequently, often, mostly, sometimes, much, seemingly and, as noted at the end of my first paragraph, rarely. 

Obi Wan Kenobi from “Star Wars” says only the Sith deal in absolutes, but the Out of the Fog website takes it a step further, stating that these absolutes are “Always and Never statements” and “are frequently used by people when they are arguing in order to emphasize or illustrate the merits of their position.”

The article more directly states that these words are “frequently used by individuals who suffer from personality disorders, because they fit neatly into the split, black and white world of their thinking. They are most often used in an accusatory, argumentative or self-pitying way.”

Whoa. And I thought they were simply used by people who wanted to be dramatic.

On a softer note, the website also says Always and Never statements “are usually exaggerations, which serve an illustrative purpose and are understood by both parties to be hyperbole and not literal.”

Meanwhile, the next time you want to use those words, remember this self-contradicting adage: “Always and Never statements are always false and never true.”

Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading. 

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital newsletter
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707

What color are the clothes you are wearing right now? Your answer might say more about you than you think. According to yourtango.com, the color you wear the most has great power over your mood, your attitude and how you are perceived by others. Yikes.

If your wardrobe consists of a lot of the color black, you may be seen as “powerful.” But beware, the article says, as too much black can be overpowering. Nobody told Johnny Cash. 

White clothing can help you “look clean and innocent” and imply that you are an “organized and detail-oriented person.” Until you spill on it, of course. 

People either love or hate purple, according to the article. If you want “to appear regal” or “show uniqueness and artistic creativity,” then purple is a great choice. And, if you are a Vikings fan, it is even better.

Orange is “a playful color.” If you wear too much orange, though, you may not be taken seriously. Orange you glad you know this now? (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)

Blue, one of the most common clothing colors, represents “honesty and trustworthiness.” The article says this is why hospital employees, bank logos and law enforcement uniforms are typically blue. Can’t argue with that. 

When you want to appear all-natural, green is said to be the way to go. The article also states that shades of green make a big difference. Deep green can “signify envy and greed,” and Army green can “make you appear rigid.” Natural and rigid? Hmmm.

Red is a color of “action, power and passion” and shows that you want to be “recognized when you walk into a room.” Go, Cyclones.

Pink is another color of passion but shows “that you’re vulnerable, and, of course, girly.” I assume my “salmon-colored” shirt falls in this category.

Keep in mind that this is all one person’s opinion (Tegan Connor, brand manager for Neverland Store), but check out the full article here and have some fun with this today.

Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707

There are two types of people in this world: those who are seemingly early for everything and those who are continually late. 

I worked with a woman a few decades ago named Mary, and she clearly fit in the latter category. To her credit, she took responsibility and didn’t shift blame. In fact, she shared something back then that has stuck with me to this day: “You are either planning on being on time, or you are planning on being late. But, either way, you are planning.” How true. Thank you, Mary.

As a teenager, I liked to see how quickly I could do things and still be on time. The end result was that I was sometimes tardy. After several instances of showing up late for my first-period class, my teacher, Mr. Yocum, reported this to the principal, who then notified me that I would be spending my free time in detention for a few weeks. Mr. Yocum never chastised me, never called me out in front of others, or never embarrassed me about this. He simply wanted me to know that there are consequences for being late. I needed that lesson. Thank you, Mr. Yocum.

When I started my first job out of college, I found myself stressed by the drive to and from work and the fear of being late. Meanwhile, my co-worker Helene always seemed relaxed and fun-loving. Her solution was simple. By arriving a few minutes earlier, and staying a few minutes later, she avoided the traffic problems and found much of her stress to go away. Easy peasy, she said. Thank you, Helene.

Today, I am rarely late because I plan on being early. I now have less stress, and I don’t have to sit in detention. So, yes, tardiness can be fixed, at least for me. I credit this to lessons learned from Mary, Mr. Yocum and Helene. How about you? Which camp are you in, and how are you working (or not working) to be on time? 

Have a tardy-free Tuesday, and thanks for reading. 

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital newsletter
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707

Several years ago, I had a boss who told me that my greatest strength and my greatest weakness were the same thing — my lack of patience. He may have been right, but I don’t have time to sit around and think about it. I got things to do.  

My friends tell me I eat too quickly. They are correct. I should slow down and enjoy food more. Some studies show that a person will actually eat less when slowing down the rate of food consumption. Sounds reasonable to me. But not easy.

Maybe this is all because of the marketing of “fast,” “quick” or “instant” foods. There is no shortage of fast food restaurants, of course, but what about individual products like instant coffee, instant pudding and instant mashed potatoes? And then there is Minute Rice, Nesquik and Quick Quaker Oats. And if that all wasn’t enough, we now have Instant Pots so we can rapidly cook many other things, too. Are we really in that big of a hurry to eat. 

My mother shares stories of her and her sisters helping my grandmother prepare meals each day. It was an all-day, multi-person effort with baked breads and pies, vegetables from the garden and freshly butchered meat. She said they would rise early to prepare breakfast, then get to work on dinner and then immediately start on supper. Now, that was work, and I don’t know anyone who wants to go back to those trials. 

Grilling meat might be the go-between. There is something special about watching meat slowly cook to perfection. Your favorite music playing. A cold beverage in one hand. A spatula in the other. Peace. Relaxation. Patience. We could all seemingly use more of those things nowadays.

Now hurry up and get that grill started!

Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707

There’s something really cool about the American jukebox, and I want one. A Wurlitzer. A Seeburg. A Rock-Ola. I don’t care. I simply want to hear those familiar sounds again. 

The coin dropping in the slot. The clicking of the plastic buttons for the chosen letters and numbers. The sound of the 45s dropping. The scratching of the needle as it hit the record. And, of course, the booming sound from those massive speakers. 

And that was just half the experience. The visuals were equally amazing. The bubbles. The waves. The circles of changing color. 

Seeing and hearing jukeboxes for the first time had to be incredible. And although they have roots in the late 1800s, the popularity of jukeboxes truly hit in the 1950s.

For me, it was the 1970s in the Pizza Hut of the small town I grew up in. My childhood friends and I would pedal our bicycles to this popular spot and listen to our favorite songs while we bellied up to the sit-down-style Asteroids video game machine and spent our weekly allowances — one quarter at a time. Yes, we had to pay to listen to music AND pay to play video games. That may seem absurd in today’s world of expecting entertainment for free. Mom thought it was a waste of money, but she never experienced the thrill of hitting 99,999 points with that triangular ship while singing along to “Rock and Roll All Nite” on the jukebox.

Of course, the Fonz also made jukeboxes cool in the “Happy Days” TV shows we all watched. Although pounding our fists on the top of the jukebox and having the song of our choice play didn’t pan out in the same way for my friends and me. We, instead, were escorted out of the restaurant by the manager we only knew as Pizza Hut Dan.    

Call it nostalgia. Call it memories. Call it old school. Call it whatever you want, but call me when you find a good jukebox for sale. I have my quarters ready.

Have a terrific Tuesday, and thanks for reading. 

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital newsletter
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707

We had some icy roads and severely cold weather in central Iowa recently. Fortunately, it was during Christmas break, so schools did not have to cancel classes.

Snow is a concern. Ice is a more serious matter. Fortunately, the road crews got on this forecasted challenge early with brine treatments, which have proven to be life-savers. 

When we lived in Nebraska a few decades ago, the superintendent of the public schools lived down the street from us. On snowy days, he would fire up his Suburban in the wee hours of the morning and pick up the superintendent of the Catholic schools for a trip around the area to determine if they should collectively cancel school for the day. I would often see him drive by as I was blowing snow out of my driveway. On his return, he would give me a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” through his window as a signal on their decision.                                                       

In my many discussions with those two school superintendents, I learned to appreciate the seriousness of school cancelations. They are damned-if-you-do or damned-if-you-don’t decisions. Don’t cancel school, and you risk weather-related accidents or injuries. Cancel school too often, and you hear anger from staff and students who end up with extended school years. With busing being an integral and expected part of education today, the stakes are even higher. 

My now deceased mother, who was born in 1935, told me stories of her youth in the snowy winters on the farms of northern Iowa. 

“School was never canceled,” she said. “If you could make it, you made it. If you couldn’t, you didn’t.” 

Did she miss school because of snow?

“Never,” she said. “Dad made sure we made it to school — one way or another. By truck or by tractor, we were there — always. And so were the teachers.”

Several feet of snow. Gravel roads. Primitive snow plow equipment. No brine treatments. No school buses. And school was in session — always. Right or wrong, we certainly live in a different world today. 

Have a fantastic Friday, and thanks for reading.

Shane Goodman
Editor and Publisher
Times Vedette digital editions
shane@gctimesnews.com
641-332-2707